Man from Atlantis (1977–1978): Season 1, Episode 5 - Melt Down - full transcript
Water levels are rising all over the Earth. Mr. Schubert offers to stop the disaster in exchange for Mark Harris, but it's the villain himself who is melting the world's ice caps with microwaves. Schubert agrees to stop the melt down if Mark will stay on of his own free will as a test subject, though his true plan is to flood the world and repopulate it with a new species of water-breathing men.
A jellyfish killed a
great white shark?
And ate it.
I have met king Neptune.
You know who he is?
Where he is?
Poo, poo.
♪
You fiend.
Get a fire axe.
- The fire axe?
- Fire axe, fire axe!
Do you realize how fast
that creature can swim
through the water?
- You're faster.
♪
♪
♪
Poobah.
Chateaubriand for one.
Poo?
♪
Isn't he graceful?
Credit where credit
is due, Mr. Schubert.
No one but you could have
bred a jelly fish to this size.
♪
Months of genetic engineering,
cellular reconstruction,
protoplasmic
augmentation, and lo.
- Lo?
- Lo.
An itsy bitsy, teeny
weeny little jellyfish
is transformed into a
slathering carnivore.
The cause of basic
scientific research
will long be
indebted to you, sir.
You are a genius, Mr.. Schubert.
You got half of that right.
Do you really think I'm
doing this for the cause
of basic scientific research?
What other purpose
could you have?
What other purpose?
To replenish my depleted
coffers, that's what purpose.
Are you saying you're
running short of money?
Even the wealthiest of
men can find his cash flow
reduced to a trickle
upon occasion.
And poobah is going
to correct that, sir?
With any kind of luck, yeah.
It's a petty scheme
of extortion,
quite beneath the high level of
my usual earthshaking deeds.
But then mothers and
necessity and all of that.
Extortion?
You're going to sic poobah
on some unsuspecting beachfront?
That unsuspecting
beachfront community.
Borrom's landing.
Quaint, isn't it?
Sail boats, surf and white sand.
Excuse me, Mr. Schubert
but if you're going to extort
money from the resort,
wouldn't a shark be
more appropriate?
It's been done, Brent.
It's been done.
What the city fathers
here at borrom's landing
hope will be the first in
an annual completion,
the 38 mile long distance
swim, to Alonzo island and back,
will begin this weekend.
Oh, I've done it again.
Just a minute, I've gotta
check the book here.
All right.
I think I did it
again, let's see.
It's international
after annual, isn't it?
Okay, I'm sorry.
Let's take it
again from the top.
And, by the way,
I want to get with Crawford
over there because if those
third world athletes
have some hocus pocus...
I know that it was all agreed
to beforehand, Mr.. Crawford.
Good morning, good morning.
But that was before we replaced
Jim buckey with burkham warey.
Mr. Dashi, if I shift
your country's position
in the starting line-up,
then I have to
shuffle everybody.
Now I think we're
a little beyond
that now, don't you?
Yes, but you see,
unlike Jim buckey,
burkham warey is left-handed.
Therefore it becomes essential
for him to be on the right side
of everyone else if he
is to perform at his best.
And, need I remind you sir,
your state department has given
us their promise
complete cooperation.
Um, just let me see... uh,
now maybe, just maybe,
George yen would trade
starting positions with you.
How would that be?
Uh, that would be most
appreciated sir, if he agrees.
Otherwise, sahib,
there will be trouble
and trouble is the
last thing you need
at such a complex
international undertaking.
Is it not?
♪
Oww, oww, oww, help!
♪
Help! Help me!
Oww, oww!
♪
Mr. Crawford, something
is happening to that boat!
Look, I think it is a shark!
Now that's impossible,
there are no sharks here.
Well something is attacking
that boat from under the water.
Help, help, help!
Well, I think we got
their attention now.
You'd better call poobah back
before he gets too rambunctious.
Yes sir.
♪
I thought you were at
borrom's landing, c.W.,
the long-distance
swimming competition.
Which might be
having shark problems.
Cw said something attacked
one of the pleasure boats
in the basin.
Something?
Well, it could not
have been a shark cw.
They're not comfortable in
the water at borrom's landing.
It had to be a
shark, a stray maybe.
Or a killer whale.
Excuse me, but why
does it have to be a shark
or a killer whale?
Because the alternative is
too incredible to be plausible.
The girl whose boat was wrecked
claims that it was torn apart
by a giant jellyfish.
Well, some of them can
grow to be quite large.
There is one almost
six feet around.
Mm-hmm, the cyanea.
But it's not native here.
And she insists the creature
was ten feet in diameter,
at least.
Perhaps what she saw
was a school of jellyfish.
Or a Portuguese man o' war.
That's it!
Now the next thing we
need are the newspapers
I asked you to get.
- Newspapers, yes.
Ten copies of the
st Louis sentinel,
the news of London,
the wall street dispatch.
And the scissors?
Scissors, mucilage.
You could have
cut up the local daily
to make your extortion
note Mr. Schubert.
It would have been much
less expensive in view of your
current financial situation.
Show a little class
Brent, just a little?
All I was doing was
thinking of you, Mr. Schubert.
♪
Give me a "D" Brent.
♪
As in, "Dear gentlemen."
oh, right.
♪
Wow.
A ten foot jellyfish.
What I said to you c.W.
Does not mean that one
could not exist.
You're a real friend.
Mark, I have swimmers
from 42 different
countries out there.
Triple the number of
diplomats and flunkies,
not to mention
the representatives
with the state department
who are out to make
foreign policy points
on this contest.
And I'd like to know if
it's safe to send swimmers
into the water.
Excuse me, Mr. Crawford?
The people at the contest
sent this letter over for you.
It's marked urgent.
Well, thank you.
If it's from one of
those diplomats again.
They're coming
out of the woodwork
already on this thing.
Did they say who sent this over?
No sir.
Look at this, will you?
What does that
sign in the corner
of the letter mean, Elizabeth?
A trident?
Instead of Napoleon, this guy
thinks that he's king Neptune.
"no further encroachment
on my kingdom
without due tribute
will be tolerated."
maybe it's a crank?
Or maybe it's somebody
out to wreck the contest.
Do you know how
long it took to get
these countries
to agree to this?
Can you imagine
the repercussions
if something happens to
any of their people here?
Do you think it's
something to do with
whatever wrecked
that girl's boat?
I do not think it is a
coincidence Elizabeth.
The answer is out there.
I will see what I can find.
♪
Unfortunately, you caught
the last chateaubriand
this morning.
We're working on it.
The first note
was just delivered.
I imagine they're still
recovering from the shock.
Not that they'll pay of course.
Not without further
demonstration
of what will
happen if they don't
come up with my money.
But by this time
tomorrow after...
Brent, I was just suggesting
that poo dine on
fish this afternoon.
Yes, sea life does not live
on chateaubriand alone.
You used to love
smelts, remember?
Aargh, we can do
without the back talk.
Do you want to take
your constitutional, or not?
Introduce a jellyfish
to the finer things
and this is the thanks you get.
Go on, find yourself a snack.
But don't go too far.
Hey, I don't really enjoy
using this thing on ya,
you know?
♪
Mark?
No sign of anything
yet, Elizabeth.
No clues at all?
No, I am going to
head up the coast.
We can't get past the
reefs there on the station.
You are fine where you are.
Well within audible range.
♪
Poobah seems to
have strayed beyond
his outer limit again.
I mean, he doesn't
pay attention, does he?
As I told you, jellyfish
have absolutely
no sense of responsibility.
Although he can't ignore this.
♪
Do you hear that
noise, Elizabeth?
Noise?
♪
Yes, it's registering now.
Very high frequency,
not very intense.
I am going to try and
track it to its source.
♪
♪
No sign of him.
He's resisting the device.
He is defying me because he's...
I want him back here now
and I don't care how much
power you have to put out
- on that thing to do it!
- It's borderline red now!
Do you think...
♪
Yes, sir, as you want.
♪
I had Jane boost the
sound for this tape.
It comes out at well over a
100 kilocycles per second.
That is in the
sonar range of most
audio active undersea creatures.
It's not an animal Mark.
My guess is it's electronic.
You believe it's king Neptune?
Well, what are we
supposed to do?
Keep the swimmers
out of the water?
Delay the opening gun?
It's supposed to go off at
seven tomorrow morning.
And there are 38
miles of open water
for them to get through.
I believe we will
see the sea creature
before then Elizabeth.
Yeah, heh.
Capital "T."
oh yeah, isn't that
a fine sans-serif?
Here.
Because, now it won't
exactly compliment the italic "A"
you've already got there.
But notes like this should
be a jumble of type
styles, shouldn't they?
Does it really make
them harder to trace?
Have you given
poobah his treat yet?
Yes sir.
The next thing we arrange
is the washing up on the beach.
We can't send
this till they get that.
Now, can we?
No sir.
Mark out there
patrolling the cove,
I know I ought to feel secure.
But I don't.
The diplomats are
really on you, aren't they?
The diplomats, the
state department,
the local people.
My lord, Elizabeth, I feel
like I'm under the
blade of a guillotine.
"tribute, " The note said.
Extortion more like it, hmm?
Next time I'm going to stick
to my nice little foundation.
Undersea volcanoes
don't seem half as irrational
as human beings do right now.
I am terribly sorry.
You cannot come into
this establishment sans tie.
It is an urgent matter.
You have a Dr... Elizabeth
merrill dining with a c w Crawford.
- And I must speak to them.
- Just a moment!
It's true we do
give ties but those
are the gentlemen who
have shirts to wear them with.
Aside from that, we
do insist on shoes,
not to mention socks.
Excuse me Leo, the
gentleman is with us.
We'll talk with him outside.
I heard the word urgent
and I got a bad feeling
in the pit of my stomach.
It struck again?
- I think so.
- You think so?
- From what I can tell,
the attack occurred
somewhere outside the bay,
the body just
washed up on shore.
A body, which beach?
Fortunately, not the
one of the contest.
The far side.
I think you'd
better take a look.
♪
My worst fear, my nightmare.
I killed somebody.
Oh, you thought I meant...
No, I meant this.
♪
A fish!
A shark.
A fish?
Not a person?
A shark.
Not just any shark
either, a great white.
A jellyfish killed a
great white shark?
And ate it.
Mr. Crawford?
This just came for you.
From who, where?
A, a speedboat.
There was this little wimpy man.
He came up, threw
it on the beach
and then sped away.
A note in a bottle, how cute.
"take heed.
My due tribute in
the sum of $1 million
must be received by the
onset of the competition
or the competition
will be prohibited."
newspaper letters.
Five and dime sort of
stationery, that's cute.
We can't mess around
with this any more.
I've gotta call Washington.
The alphabet boys
are going to insist.
Thank you.
♪
They got the note all right.
This balding man in charge?
He wears a suit on the beach.
Can you imagine, heh?
It was very exciting.
I've never been involved
in intrigue and danger
like this before.
I think I'm what they
call a natural at it.
Brent!
Oh, there's something
you should know about
the man in charge though.
I mean who his assistants are.
What do I care whom
he's working with?
On the way home stop off at
chin wah szechuan
Chinese restaurant.
I think the credit's
still good there.
Get two orders of
chicken bumbum...
It's Mark Harris
and Dr... merrill, Mr. Schubert.
A pork in hoisin sauce and...
What about Mark Harris?
Well, this c w
Crawford in, in charge
of the competition?
He's with the foundation
for oceanic research.
That's the same outfit
Mark Harris works for.
And if...
He haunts me,
hounds me.
What did I ever do to him?
What?
Well, I've got to get
him out of the picture.
The trick is getting him here.
A lure.
Poo.
♪
One egg?
It's all there was
in the refrigerator.
One egg?
Oh, Dieu.
Well, couldn't you
dress it up a little
with some caviar
garnish around the...
No more beluga?
Or lumpfish roe?
Surely we can afford
a little lumpfish roe?
Anchovy?
Anything?
Ooh!
The landlord is
threatening me with eviction
for non payment of rent.
Can you imagine that?
He had the temerity
to threaten me
with a midnight
knock on the door
from the sheriff.
Me?
It pains me to see you
so down and out sir.
I want you to know that.
There's something else
I want you to know sir.
I'm with you all the way,
come heck or high water.
Never have I been so privileged
to work with such
a brilliant man!
Brent...
You can stuff that guava jelly.
I'm not destroying
the oxnard motel
negatives, no matter what.
Oh, hm.
Now, has poobah picked
up that green-eyed shadow
in his wake yet?
Let's see.
Hm.
There's our jellyfish.
And, yes, something's
coming up behind him.
The Mark Harris I know and love.
Prepare a welcome for him Brent.
Something, something
he can't bust out of.
♪
Is everything on schedule?
That boy is like an alarm clock.
Is everything ready?
Yes sir.
The outer gate will close
behind him as soon as he passes
the trigger mechanism.
Hmm-mm.
♪
Mark.
Nice to see you again.
Mr. Schubert.
I suppose I should have known.
Not really.
A small affair like this?
If I were a writer,
I'd use a pseudonym.
Yay.
Nasty little thing, isn't he?
I would get out of
that water if I were you.
We have trained him to be
exceedingly unreasonable.
He does not seem hostile now.
No, of course not.
Now that he knows
you're my friend.
Where you going?
I've seen what I
have come to see.
Now I will notify
the authorities.
Don't be absurd!
You're remaining
here as my guest.
Do not try and stop
me, Mr. Schubert.
I won't stop you.
Brent will.
♪
♪
Comfy?
No, no, no.
You're too dry for that now.
Relax, Mark, close your eyes,
get rid of all that
tension, and give
your blood pressure a break.
Two or three days of rest,
you'll leave here looking
the picture of health.
Hmm?
Come along Brent.
I think this is the propitious
moment to open that last bottle
of perigaud '59.
I am asking you to let
me go, Mr. Schubert.
I will, Mark.
Thursday or Friday of next week.
All right, what are you doing
Mark?
Mark, it's childish
for you to sit
there and bemoan your fate.
You have to accept
things as they are.
Ask him what he's doing.
Tell him this childish
petulance is going
to get him nowhere.
Mr. Harris?
Mr. Schubert says that, um...
Hmm-mm.
Mr. Harris.
Stay here and you
argue it out with him Brent.
I will be out on the patio.
We've been hit by a truck.
At the end of a pier?
Go see what it is
yes, sir.
♪
Remember what I
told you about tension?
Well, look at the
cords in your neck
standing out like that.
You keep this up,
you know what's going
to happen to your
cardiovascular system?
It's monstrous Mr. Schubert.
I've never seen
anything like it before.
Nobody's ever seen
anything like it before.
Like what?
I don't know like what.
All I know is it's big
and it's very hostile.
He's called some
kind of sea creature.
Now you stop that!
You stop that, do you hear me?
You stop it!
♪
Now look here.
Vengeance demeans everybody.
♪
It's mindless, it's below
your high standards.
Brent?
♪
Well, I guess that's a
wrap, isn't it, Mr. Schubert?
No, that is not a wrap!
Might even work
out in our favor.
Ahh, Mr. Crawford, sir.
I do not wish to be rude
but this is top priority.
If it's about your
substitute swimmer, um...
No, it is about these
nervous making rumors
which are circulating
about this carnivore.
Rumors?
Rumors to the effect that
these waters are dangerous.
That there is some kind
of vicious fish out there,
lurking about with
malice aforethought.
Sir, if you think
that one of the
great sports heroes
of our country is
going to be put off by,
by rumors that are
just fabrication designed
to upset the faint
hearted, well, I've got...
Mr. Dashki, this
country would not
consider putting
anyone in danger.
Why do you think we
delayed the opening gun
for the entire competition?
There will be a caucus
of our allies about this.
That young man
approaching has been
double-checking the bay for us.
You could do us
all a great favor
by telling your caucus that.
You look like you
know something.
I hope it's good news.
The diplomats are showing
withdrawal symptoms,
if you know what I mean?
I have met king Neptune.
You know who he is, where he is?
He is Mr. Schubert.
You're putting me on?
Putting you on what?
This seems so petty,
a $1 million is just
a, a drop in the ocean to him.
Apparently he is in debt.
Grandiose schemes, the type
of which Mr. Schubert involves
himself in, cost a great
deal of money, do they not?
Well, the Washington people
will be here in a moment.
Looks like you're going to
be leading an armada today.
♪
These are
Mr. Schubert's quarters.
The creature is in the tank.
I want to see that animal.
If schubert's had it
bred up to the size
you described, if he's trained
it like some kind of doberman,
I wanna know how it was done.
Mr. Harris, Dr...
merrill, Mr. Crawford,
I've heard about you sir.
Welcome to my home.
We are here with a legal
search warrant Mr. Schubert.
These men are from Washington.
They have come
to see your jellyfish.
My jellyfish?
Mmm-hm.
Yes we do keep
jellyfish here, of course.
Uh, Portuguese men o' war.
I keep them in a tank over here.
Being as interested in
sea-life as I am, I find it...
We are not speaking
of many jellyfish
Mr. Schubert, only one.
One?
Ten feet in diameter.
Well, isn't that... my,
my a ten foot jellyfish.
What'll you think of next?
Gentlemen, and ladies...
There was a tank.
Oh, there is a tank right there.
Gentlemen?
A large tank, in the floor,
right where this carpet is.
In this floor?
Concrete beneath parquet beneath
my carracota carpets, huh?
X-ray it!
Hey, do a heat scan.
It had an opening
leading directly to the sea.
That is how he
released the creature.
Mmm-hmm, that's slander.
Scurrilous at that.
Are you really going
to take the word of this
obviously disturbed young man?
It's a waste of time.
What have we got to hold him on?
Nothing.
So we're just gonna forget
about the whole thing?
Afraid so, Elizabeth.
There's nothing else
we can do at the moment.
Except keep a very
close watch on you sir.
You are entirely
welcome to do that sir.
Schubert enterprises
and its management
have nothing to hide.
Ask the sec to send
you our latest report
if you don't believe me.
Come again!
Yes, Brent.
Is it copasetic to send poobah
home now Mr. Schubert?
No.
No, leave him in
the holding tank
on the other side of the bay.
Why let them know
which direction he's gonna
be coming from.
What do you mean you'll just
find somebody to replace me?
I'm telling you,
we have a threat
on our hands here.
Of course I'd feel better
if my foundation people
stayed on the job.
I am trying to point
out that you cannot take
a man like schubert at his word.
We would be best served if
we postponed or cancelled...
Yes sir, we will
keep our eyes open.
Yes sir!
He would not put it off?
Well, it's gone
too far for that.
The diplomats are already here.
I told you that before
I put the call in, right?
Well, maybe schubert
will be the one
who pulls back, I mean, now
that he knows that we're onto him...
That would not be like
Mr. Schubert, would it?
No.
What we need is an early
warning system of some kind.
Mark in the water, and you
on the pier by schubert's place.
See to it that you
have a bullhorn.
Mark spots the thing,
you call the swimmers
out of the water fast.
And I can keep
an eye out for any
unusual activity over there too.
Cw, do you realize
how fast that creature
can swim through the water?
You're faster.
Now what do you think?
Would shark repellent
work against this monster?
I don't know but
it's worth a try.
Crawford!
Thank you.
I just got a final
note from Neptune.
He either gets his $1
million by midnight or...
He left the
alternative implicit.
And, since we're not paying...
♪
Blaise mullen here, bringing
you the start of the first
international long-distance
swimming meet
ever to be held in the
continental United States,
ladies and gentlemen.
We are waiting Mr. Crawford.
The TV people are broadcasting.
Yes, ladies and
gentlemen, it appears
as though the long
delay is now over.
They're about to give
the starting signal.
And they're off, there they go!
In starting position right now
in first place, burkham warey.
Apparently, the
management intends
to test the resolve
of king Neptune.
They're challenging
the king of the sea.
You are certain no
appropriately bulging
envelope was found at the
drop at the appointed time?
It was as empty a trash
basket as I've ever seen.
Then I think it's time to
release our angel of doom.
♪
Looks just like an
ordinary radio, doesn't it?
♪
Gents.
It certainly doesn't
look like a device
for activating a
giant coelentera.
♪
That's the phylum that
jellyfish are members of.
♪
Mark Harris is out there.
I think he's going to warn them
the minute he catches
sight of poobah.
He won't have a chance
to open his mouth.
Not at the speed at which
our lethal little creature's
been trained to move.
Poobah is going to
go right through him.
♪
♪
Go get him you
vicious little devil!
I'll teach him the consequences
of ignoring the
demands of Poseidon.
♪
Elizabeth, it is here!
Get the contestants out
of the water immediately!
♪
Clear the water!
Danger alert, clear
the water immediately!
You are in grave danger.
Danger alert!
Clear the water immediately!
♪
I wouldn't be a bit surprised if
all these incoming swimmers
set new speed records today.
Come along, Brent.
I think we finally
convinced them
king Neptune means business.
♪
We're trying to find out,
ladies and gentlemen,
who the woman on the
pier is, and why she ordered
the contestants out
of the water like that.
We're also trying to get a
ruling from the judges on this.
I hope that run is legal,
ladies and gentlemen,
because never, never,
in all of my years,
have I witnessed a better
send-off or a run like that.
It's phenomenal, the speed
that some of these guys...
Uh, uh fellas, fellas!
An alert during the trial heats,
well, that is one
thing Mr. Crawford,
but to interfere with
those young men
out there, and
their concentration,
especially after you
made such a fuss
over them putting on
that shark repellent...
Which you refused
for your men wearing...
That is neither
here nor there sahib.
Elizabeth merrill is the
finest marine biologist
in this vicinity.
Mark Harris is
to the water born,
and, if they say there
is danger out there,
you can bet your life on it!
♪
Call poobah back!
♪
One more missive
from king Neptune,
and our problems will be solved.
They will?
Didn't I order a new set
of Boston bay monitors?
Mr. Schubert, something's
wrong with the control.
Poobah is resisting recall.
Jiggle it.
Turn the dial all the
way over to the end,
the way we did before.
If I didn't know better, I'd say
the signal was being overridden.
What kind of signal are
we talking about here?
A garage door opener?
I don't know, it's
interference though.
I'll stake my professional
reputation on it.
You're staking your professional
nose on it Brent, look...
What, what is he doing?
I don't know.
It's very out of character.
Poo?
Poo?
Let go, you sea-hugging garter!
He's not responding!
Brent!
I'll burn the negatives!
I'll save you Mr. Schubert!
Stop, hurry!
He's stronger than he looks!
Poobah will not release
you Mr. Schubert.
Not until the
authorities arrive.
What did you do to my jellyfish?
Undone what you have done.
You fiend!
We'll forget this!
- Get a fire axe!
- The fire axe?
Fire axe, fire axe, fire axe!
That will not be necessary!
The surrender of the
controlling device will free you.
I can't be intimidated.
The fire axe!
You see?
The controlling
device, Mr. Schubert?
I will not ask again.
Control, that's it!
Override his override.
Override.
I've got it on full right now!
Put it on Fuller!
That's it, that's it Brent!
That's shown him.
So you just took him out
to sea and turned him loose
and isn't that dangerous?
He's no longer under
Mr. Schubert's control c.W.
So he is no longer dangerous.
I tracked him on sonar 10,000
feet down and not stopping.
I think we've seen
the last of poobah.
Poobah.
Why aren't you
over at the beach?
The competition's supposed
to run till this evening isn't it?
The competition is over.
Fantastic, who won?
Officially?
What happened?
Burkham warey won.
Officially.
Unofficially?
Well, we had this
unexpected challenger.
Mark?
Dr. Merrill.
S j dashki.
He doesn't sound happy.
♪
♪
great white shark?
And ate it.
I have met king Neptune.
You know who he is?
Where he is?
Poo, poo.
♪
You fiend.
Get a fire axe.
- The fire axe?
- Fire axe, fire axe!
Do you realize how fast
that creature can swim
through the water?
- You're faster.
♪
♪
♪
Poobah.
Chateaubriand for one.
Poo?
♪
Isn't he graceful?
Credit where credit
is due, Mr. Schubert.
No one but you could have
bred a jelly fish to this size.
♪
Months of genetic engineering,
cellular reconstruction,
protoplasmic
augmentation, and lo.
- Lo?
- Lo.
An itsy bitsy, teeny
weeny little jellyfish
is transformed into a
slathering carnivore.
The cause of basic
scientific research
will long be
indebted to you, sir.
You are a genius, Mr.. Schubert.
You got half of that right.
Do you really think I'm
doing this for the cause
of basic scientific research?
What other purpose
could you have?
What other purpose?
To replenish my depleted
coffers, that's what purpose.
Are you saying you're
running short of money?
Even the wealthiest of
men can find his cash flow
reduced to a trickle
upon occasion.
And poobah is going
to correct that, sir?
With any kind of luck, yeah.
It's a petty scheme
of extortion,
quite beneath the high level of
my usual earthshaking deeds.
But then mothers and
necessity and all of that.
Extortion?
You're going to sic poobah
on some unsuspecting beachfront?
That unsuspecting
beachfront community.
Borrom's landing.
Quaint, isn't it?
Sail boats, surf and white sand.
Excuse me, Mr. Schubert
but if you're going to extort
money from the resort,
wouldn't a shark be
more appropriate?
It's been done, Brent.
It's been done.
What the city fathers
here at borrom's landing
hope will be the first in
an annual completion,
the 38 mile long distance
swim, to Alonzo island and back,
will begin this weekend.
Oh, I've done it again.
Just a minute, I've gotta
check the book here.
All right.
I think I did it
again, let's see.
It's international
after annual, isn't it?
Okay, I'm sorry.
Let's take it
again from the top.
And, by the way,
I want to get with Crawford
over there because if those
third world athletes
have some hocus pocus...
I know that it was all agreed
to beforehand, Mr.. Crawford.
Good morning, good morning.
But that was before we replaced
Jim buckey with burkham warey.
Mr. Dashi, if I shift
your country's position
in the starting line-up,
then I have to
shuffle everybody.
Now I think we're
a little beyond
that now, don't you?
Yes, but you see,
unlike Jim buckey,
burkham warey is left-handed.
Therefore it becomes essential
for him to be on the right side
of everyone else if he
is to perform at his best.
And, need I remind you sir,
your state department has given
us their promise
complete cooperation.
Um, just let me see... uh,
now maybe, just maybe,
George yen would trade
starting positions with you.
How would that be?
Uh, that would be most
appreciated sir, if he agrees.
Otherwise, sahib,
there will be trouble
and trouble is the
last thing you need
at such a complex
international undertaking.
Is it not?
♪
Oww, oww, oww, help!
♪
Help! Help me!
Oww, oww!
♪
Mr. Crawford, something
is happening to that boat!
Look, I think it is a shark!
Now that's impossible,
there are no sharks here.
Well something is attacking
that boat from under the water.
Help, help, help!
Well, I think we got
their attention now.
You'd better call poobah back
before he gets too rambunctious.
Yes sir.
♪
I thought you were at
borrom's landing, c.W.,
the long-distance
swimming competition.
Which might be
having shark problems.
Cw said something attacked
one of the pleasure boats
in the basin.
Something?
Well, it could not
have been a shark cw.
They're not comfortable in
the water at borrom's landing.
It had to be a
shark, a stray maybe.
Or a killer whale.
Excuse me, but why
does it have to be a shark
or a killer whale?
Because the alternative is
too incredible to be plausible.
The girl whose boat was wrecked
claims that it was torn apart
by a giant jellyfish.
Well, some of them can
grow to be quite large.
There is one almost
six feet around.
Mm-hmm, the cyanea.
But it's not native here.
And she insists the creature
was ten feet in diameter,
at least.
Perhaps what she saw
was a school of jellyfish.
Or a Portuguese man o' war.
That's it!
Now the next thing we
need are the newspapers
I asked you to get.
- Newspapers, yes.
Ten copies of the
st Louis sentinel,
the news of London,
the wall street dispatch.
And the scissors?
Scissors, mucilage.
You could have
cut up the local daily
to make your extortion
note Mr. Schubert.
It would have been much
less expensive in view of your
current financial situation.
Show a little class
Brent, just a little?
All I was doing was
thinking of you, Mr. Schubert.
♪
Give me a "D" Brent.
♪
As in, "Dear gentlemen."
oh, right.
♪
Wow.
A ten foot jellyfish.
What I said to you c.W.
Does not mean that one
could not exist.
You're a real friend.
Mark, I have swimmers
from 42 different
countries out there.
Triple the number of
diplomats and flunkies,
not to mention
the representatives
with the state department
who are out to make
foreign policy points
on this contest.
And I'd like to know if
it's safe to send swimmers
into the water.
Excuse me, Mr. Crawford?
The people at the contest
sent this letter over for you.
It's marked urgent.
Well, thank you.
If it's from one of
those diplomats again.
They're coming
out of the woodwork
already on this thing.
Did they say who sent this over?
No sir.
Look at this, will you?
What does that
sign in the corner
of the letter mean, Elizabeth?
A trident?
Instead of Napoleon, this guy
thinks that he's king Neptune.
"no further encroachment
on my kingdom
without due tribute
will be tolerated."
maybe it's a crank?
Or maybe it's somebody
out to wreck the contest.
Do you know how
long it took to get
these countries
to agree to this?
Can you imagine
the repercussions
if something happens to
any of their people here?
Do you think it's
something to do with
whatever wrecked
that girl's boat?
I do not think it is a
coincidence Elizabeth.
The answer is out there.
I will see what I can find.
♪
Unfortunately, you caught
the last chateaubriand
this morning.
We're working on it.
The first note
was just delivered.
I imagine they're still
recovering from the shock.
Not that they'll pay of course.
Not without further
demonstration
of what will
happen if they don't
come up with my money.
But by this time
tomorrow after...
Brent, I was just suggesting
that poo dine on
fish this afternoon.
Yes, sea life does not live
on chateaubriand alone.
You used to love
smelts, remember?
Aargh, we can do
without the back talk.
Do you want to take
your constitutional, or not?
Introduce a jellyfish
to the finer things
and this is the thanks you get.
Go on, find yourself a snack.
But don't go too far.
Hey, I don't really enjoy
using this thing on ya,
you know?
♪
Mark?
No sign of anything
yet, Elizabeth.
No clues at all?
No, I am going to
head up the coast.
We can't get past the
reefs there on the station.
You are fine where you are.
Well within audible range.
♪
Poobah seems to
have strayed beyond
his outer limit again.
I mean, he doesn't
pay attention, does he?
As I told you, jellyfish
have absolutely
no sense of responsibility.
Although he can't ignore this.
♪
Do you hear that
noise, Elizabeth?
Noise?
♪
Yes, it's registering now.
Very high frequency,
not very intense.
I am going to try and
track it to its source.
♪
♪
No sign of him.
He's resisting the device.
He is defying me because he's...
I want him back here now
and I don't care how much
power you have to put out
- on that thing to do it!
- It's borderline red now!
Do you think...
♪
Yes, sir, as you want.
♪
I had Jane boost the
sound for this tape.
It comes out at well over a
100 kilocycles per second.
That is in the
sonar range of most
audio active undersea creatures.
It's not an animal Mark.
My guess is it's electronic.
You believe it's king Neptune?
Well, what are we
supposed to do?
Keep the swimmers
out of the water?
Delay the opening gun?
It's supposed to go off at
seven tomorrow morning.
And there are 38
miles of open water
for them to get through.
I believe we will
see the sea creature
before then Elizabeth.
Yeah, heh.
Capital "T."
oh yeah, isn't that
a fine sans-serif?
Here.
Because, now it won't
exactly compliment the italic "A"
you've already got there.
But notes like this should
be a jumble of type
styles, shouldn't they?
Does it really make
them harder to trace?
Have you given
poobah his treat yet?
Yes sir.
The next thing we arrange
is the washing up on the beach.
We can't send
this till they get that.
Now, can we?
No sir.
Mark out there
patrolling the cove,
I know I ought to feel secure.
But I don't.
The diplomats are
really on you, aren't they?
The diplomats, the
state department,
the local people.
My lord, Elizabeth, I feel
like I'm under the
blade of a guillotine.
"tribute, " The note said.
Extortion more like it, hmm?
Next time I'm going to stick
to my nice little foundation.
Undersea volcanoes
don't seem half as irrational
as human beings do right now.
I am terribly sorry.
You cannot come into
this establishment sans tie.
It is an urgent matter.
You have a Dr... Elizabeth
merrill dining with a c w Crawford.
- And I must speak to them.
- Just a moment!
It's true we do
give ties but those
are the gentlemen who
have shirts to wear them with.
Aside from that, we
do insist on shoes,
not to mention socks.
Excuse me Leo, the
gentleman is with us.
We'll talk with him outside.
I heard the word urgent
and I got a bad feeling
in the pit of my stomach.
It struck again?
- I think so.
- You think so?
- From what I can tell,
the attack occurred
somewhere outside the bay,
the body just
washed up on shore.
A body, which beach?
Fortunately, not the
one of the contest.
The far side.
I think you'd
better take a look.
♪
My worst fear, my nightmare.
I killed somebody.
Oh, you thought I meant...
No, I meant this.
♪
A fish!
A shark.
A fish?
Not a person?
A shark.
Not just any shark
either, a great white.
A jellyfish killed a
great white shark?
And ate it.
Mr. Crawford?
This just came for you.
From who, where?
A, a speedboat.
There was this little wimpy man.
He came up, threw
it on the beach
and then sped away.
A note in a bottle, how cute.
"take heed.
My due tribute in
the sum of $1 million
must be received by the
onset of the competition
or the competition
will be prohibited."
newspaper letters.
Five and dime sort of
stationery, that's cute.
We can't mess around
with this any more.
I've gotta call Washington.
The alphabet boys
are going to insist.
Thank you.
♪
They got the note all right.
This balding man in charge?
He wears a suit on the beach.
Can you imagine, heh?
It was very exciting.
I've never been involved
in intrigue and danger
like this before.
I think I'm what they
call a natural at it.
Brent!
Oh, there's something
you should know about
the man in charge though.
I mean who his assistants are.
What do I care whom
he's working with?
On the way home stop off at
chin wah szechuan
Chinese restaurant.
I think the credit's
still good there.
Get two orders of
chicken bumbum...
It's Mark Harris
and Dr... merrill, Mr. Schubert.
A pork in hoisin sauce and...
What about Mark Harris?
Well, this c w
Crawford in, in charge
of the competition?
He's with the foundation
for oceanic research.
That's the same outfit
Mark Harris works for.
And if...
He haunts me,
hounds me.
What did I ever do to him?
What?
Well, I've got to get
him out of the picture.
The trick is getting him here.
A lure.
Poo.
♪
One egg?
It's all there was
in the refrigerator.
One egg?
Oh, Dieu.
Well, couldn't you
dress it up a little
with some caviar
garnish around the...
No more beluga?
Or lumpfish roe?
Surely we can afford
a little lumpfish roe?
Anchovy?
Anything?
Ooh!
The landlord is
threatening me with eviction
for non payment of rent.
Can you imagine that?
He had the temerity
to threaten me
with a midnight
knock on the door
from the sheriff.
Me?
It pains me to see you
so down and out sir.
I want you to know that.
There's something else
I want you to know sir.
I'm with you all the way,
come heck or high water.
Never have I been so privileged
to work with such
a brilliant man!
Brent...
You can stuff that guava jelly.
I'm not destroying
the oxnard motel
negatives, no matter what.
Oh, hm.
Now, has poobah picked
up that green-eyed shadow
in his wake yet?
Let's see.
Hm.
There's our jellyfish.
And, yes, something's
coming up behind him.
The Mark Harris I know and love.
Prepare a welcome for him Brent.
Something, something
he can't bust out of.
♪
Is everything on schedule?
That boy is like an alarm clock.
Is everything ready?
Yes sir.
The outer gate will close
behind him as soon as he passes
the trigger mechanism.
Hmm-mm.
♪
Mark.
Nice to see you again.
Mr. Schubert.
I suppose I should have known.
Not really.
A small affair like this?
If I were a writer,
I'd use a pseudonym.
Yay.
Nasty little thing, isn't he?
I would get out of
that water if I were you.
We have trained him to be
exceedingly unreasonable.
He does not seem hostile now.
No, of course not.
Now that he knows
you're my friend.
Where you going?
I've seen what I
have come to see.
Now I will notify
the authorities.
Don't be absurd!
You're remaining
here as my guest.
Do not try and stop
me, Mr. Schubert.
I won't stop you.
Brent will.
♪
♪
Comfy?
No, no, no.
You're too dry for that now.
Relax, Mark, close your eyes,
get rid of all that
tension, and give
your blood pressure a break.
Two or three days of rest,
you'll leave here looking
the picture of health.
Hmm?
Come along Brent.
I think this is the propitious
moment to open that last bottle
of perigaud '59.
I am asking you to let
me go, Mr. Schubert.
I will, Mark.
Thursday or Friday of next week.
All right, what are you doing
Mark?
Mark, it's childish
for you to sit
there and bemoan your fate.
You have to accept
things as they are.
Ask him what he's doing.
Tell him this childish
petulance is going
to get him nowhere.
Mr. Harris?
Mr. Schubert says that, um...
Hmm-mm.
Mr. Harris.
Stay here and you
argue it out with him Brent.
I will be out on the patio.
We've been hit by a truck.
At the end of a pier?
Go see what it is
yes, sir.
♪
Remember what I
told you about tension?
Well, look at the
cords in your neck
standing out like that.
You keep this up,
you know what's going
to happen to your
cardiovascular system?
It's monstrous Mr. Schubert.
I've never seen
anything like it before.
Nobody's ever seen
anything like it before.
Like what?
I don't know like what.
All I know is it's big
and it's very hostile.
He's called some
kind of sea creature.
Now you stop that!
You stop that, do you hear me?
You stop it!
♪
Now look here.
Vengeance demeans everybody.
♪
It's mindless, it's below
your high standards.
Brent?
♪
Well, I guess that's a
wrap, isn't it, Mr. Schubert?
No, that is not a wrap!
Might even work
out in our favor.
Ahh, Mr. Crawford, sir.
I do not wish to be rude
but this is top priority.
If it's about your
substitute swimmer, um...
No, it is about these
nervous making rumors
which are circulating
about this carnivore.
Rumors?
Rumors to the effect that
these waters are dangerous.
That there is some kind
of vicious fish out there,
lurking about with
malice aforethought.
Sir, if you think
that one of the
great sports heroes
of our country is
going to be put off by,
by rumors that are
just fabrication designed
to upset the faint
hearted, well, I've got...
Mr. Dashki, this
country would not
consider putting
anyone in danger.
Why do you think we
delayed the opening gun
for the entire competition?
There will be a caucus
of our allies about this.
That young man
approaching has been
double-checking the bay for us.
You could do us
all a great favor
by telling your caucus that.
You look like you
know something.
I hope it's good news.
The diplomats are showing
withdrawal symptoms,
if you know what I mean?
I have met king Neptune.
You know who he is, where he is?
He is Mr. Schubert.
You're putting me on?
Putting you on what?
This seems so petty,
a $1 million is just
a, a drop in the ocean to him.
Apparently he is in debt.
Grandiose schemes, the type
of which Mr. Schubert involves
himself in, cost a great
deal of money, do they not?
Well, the Washington people
will be here in a moment.
Looks like you're going to
be leading an armada today.
♪
These are
Mr. Schubert's quarters.
The creature is in the tank.
I want to see that animal.
If schubert's had it
bred up to the size
you described, if he's trained
it like some kind of doberman,
I wanna know how it was done.
Mr. Harris, Dr...
merrill, Mr. Crawford,
I've heard about you sir.
Welcome to my home.
We are here with a legal
search warrant Mr. Schubert.
These men are from Washington.
They have come
to see your jellyfish.
My jellyfish?
Mmm-hm.
Yes we do keep
jellyfish here, of course.
Uh, Portuguese men o' war.
I keep them in a tank over here.
Being as interested in
sea-life as I am, I find it...
We are not speaking
of many jellyfish
Mr. Schubert, only one.
One?
Ten feet in diameter.
Well, isn't that... my,
my a ten foot jellyfish.
What'll you think of next?
Gentlemen, and ladies...
There was a tank.
Oh, there is a tank right there.
Gentlemen?
A large tank, in the floor,
right where this carpet is.
In this floor?
Concrete beneath parquet beneath
my carracota carpets, huh?
X-ray it!
Hey, do a heat scan.
It had an opening
leading directly to the sea.
That is how he
released the creature.
Mmm-hmm, that's slander.
Scurrilous at that.
Are you really going
to take the word of this
obviously disturbed young man?
It's a waste of time.
What have we got to hold him on?
Nothing.
So we're just gonna forget
about the whole thing?
Afraid so, Elizabeth.
There's nothing else
we can do at the moment.
Except keep a very
close watch on you sir.
You are entirely
welcome to do that sir.
Schubert enterprises
and its management
have nothing to hide.
Ask the sec to send
you our latest report
if you don't believe me.
Come again!
Yes, Brent.
Is it copasetic to send poobah
home now Mr. Schubert?
No.
No, leave him in
the holding tank
on the other side of the bay.
Why let them know
which direction he's gonna
be coming from.
What do you mean you'll just
find somebody to replace me?
I'm telling you,
we have a threat
on our hands here.
Of course I'd feel better
if my foundation people
stayed on the job.
I am trying to point
out that you cannot take
a man like schubert at his word.
We would be best served if
we postponed or cancelled...
Yes sir, we will
keep our eyes open.
Yes sir!
He would not put it off?
Well, it's gone
too far for that.
The diplomats are already here.
I told you that before
I put the call in, right?
Well, maybe schubert
will be the one
who pulls back, I mean, now
that he knows that we're onto him...
That would not be like
Mr. Schubert, would it?
No.
What we need is an early
warning system of some kind.
Mark in the water, and you
on the pier by schubert's place.
See to it that you
have a bullhorn.
Mark spots the thing,
you call the swimmers
out of the water fast.
And I can keep
an eye out for any
unusual activity over there too.
Cw, do you realize
how fast that creature
can swim through the water?
You're faster.
Now what do you think?
Would shark repellent
work against this monster?
I don't know but
it's worth a try.
Crawford!
Thank you.
I just got a final
note from Neptune.
He either gets his $1
million by midnight or...
He left the
alternative implicit.
And, since we're not paying...
♪
Blaise mullen here, bringing
you the start of the first
international long-distance
swimming meet
ever to be held in the
continental United States,
ladies and gentlemen.
We are waiting Mr. Crawford.
The TV people are broadcasting.
Yes, ladies and
gentlemen, it appears
as though the long
delay is now over.
They're about to give
the starting signal.
And they're off, there they go!
In starting position right now
in first place, burkham warey.
Apparently, the
management intends
to test the resolve
of king Neptune.
They're challenging
the king of the sea.
You are certain no
appropriately bulging
envelope was found at the
drop at the appointed time?
It was as empty a trash
basket as I've ever seen.
Then I think it's time to
release our angel of doom.
♪
Looks just like an
ordinary radio, doesn't it?
♪
Gents.
It certainly doesn't
look like a device
for activating a
giant coelentera.
♪
That's the phylum that
jellyfish are members of.
♪
Mark Harris is out there.
I think he's going to warn them
the minute he catches
sight of poobah.
He won't have a chance
to open his mouth.
Not at the speed at which
our lethal little creature's
been trained to move.
Poobah is going to
go right through him.
♪
♪
Go get him you
vicious little devil!
I'll teach him the consequences
of ignoring the
demands of Poseidon.
♪
Elizabeth, it is here!
Get the contestants out
of the water immediately!
♪
Clear the water!
Danger alert, clear
the water immediately!
You are in grave danger.
Danger alert!
Clear the water immediately!
♪
I wouldn't be a bit surprised if
all these incoming swimmers
set new speed records today.
Come along, Brent.
I think we finally
convinced them
king Neptune means business.
♪
We're trying to find out,
ladies and gentlemen,
who the woman on the
pier is, and why she ordered
the contestants out
of the water like that.
We're also trying to get a
ruling from the judges on this.
I hope that run is legal,
ladies and gentlemen,
because never, never,
in all of my years,
have I witnessed a better
send-off or a run like that.
It's phenomenal, the speed
that some of these guys...
Uh, uh fellas, fellas!
An alert during the trial heats,
well, that is one
thing Mr. Crawford,
but to interfere with
those young men
out there, and
their concentration,
especially after you
made such a fuss
over them putting on
that shark repellent...
Which you refused
for your men wearing...
That is neither
here nor there sahib.
Elizabeth merrill is the
finest marine biologist
in this vicinity.
Mark Harris is
to the water born,
and, if they say there
is danger out there,
you can bet your life on it!
♪
Call poobah back!
♪
One more missive
from king Neptune,
and our problems will be solved.
They will?
Didn't I order a new set
of Boston bay monitors?
Mr. Schubert, something's
wrong with the control.
Poobah is resisting recall.
Jiggle it.
Turn the dial all the
way over to the end,
the way we did before.
If I didn't know better, I'd say
the signal was being overridden.
What kind of signal are
we talking about here?
A garage door opener?
I don't know, it's
interference though.
I'll stake my professional
reputation on it.
You're staking your professional
nose on it Brent, look...
What, what is he doing?
I don't know.
It's very out of character.
Poo?
Poo?
Let go, you sea-hugging garter!
He's not responding!
Brent!
I'll burn the negatives!
I'll save you Mr. Schubert!
Stop, hurry!
He's stronger than he looks!
Poobah will not release
you Mr. Schubert.
Not until the
authorities arrive.
What did you do to my jellyfish?
Undone what you have done.
You fiend!
We'll forget this!
- Get a fire axe!
- The fire axe?
Fire axe, fire axe, fire axe!
That will not be necessary!
The surrender of the
controlling device will free you.
I can't be intimidated.
The fire axe!
You see?
The controlling
device, Mr. Schubert?
I will not ask again.
Control, that's it!
Override his override.
Override.
I've got it on full right now!
Put it on Fuller!
That's it, that's it Brent!
That's shown him.
So you just took him out
to sea and turned him loose
and isn't that dangerous?
He's no longer under
Mr. Schubert's control c.W.
So he is no longer dangerous.
I tracked him on sonar 10,000
feet down and not stopping.
I think we've seen
the last of poobah.
Poobah.
Why aren't you
over at the beach?
The competition's supposed
to run till this evening isn't it?
The competition is over.
Fantastic, who won?
Officially?
What happened?
Burkham warey won.
Officially.
Unofficially?
Well, we had this
unexpected challenger.
Mark?
Dr. Merrill.
S j dashki.
He doesn't sound happy.
♪
♪